Wilcox (pictured), the reigning USHL Goaltender of the Week, got another start for the Storm and got another first star award. Unofficially thatâ€™s about seven first stars in the last month. Heâ€™s given up only three goals in his last three games while stopping 100 shots. Thatâ€™s pretty good. On Friday Wilcox stopped 28 of 29 against conference-leading Omaha. Tri-City stayed in fifth in the West with the two points, but put four points between them and seventh place Des Moines for the final playoff spot. The top-6 teams make the postseason in each conference.

Saint John opened defense of their Memorial Cup title with a 13-4 thrashing of Cape Breton. The Sea Dogs outshot the Screaming Eagles 50-19 in the game. Cape Breton actually held a 2-1 lead midway through the first period before Saint John turned up the heat. Gauthier had four points in the game, which tied his playoff high set last year in 18 games. Impressive. Sharks first rounder (traded to Wild) and former Boston University star Charlie Coyle had a hat trick and three assists for the Sea Dogs. Also impressive. Game 2 is Saturday night.

The Armada took a commanding 2-0 series lead on Gatineau with a 5-1 win on Friday. They beat the Olympiques 7-2 in the series opener on Thursday. Janosik was scoreless and minus-4 in that game for the 14th seed.

Namestnikov scored what turned out to be the game winning goal in the first period off a great individual effort. He added a third period power play assist to help Michael Houser (undrafted) and the Eastâ€™s top seed shut out Windsor in Game 1 of their opening round series, 3-0. Game 2 is Saturday. Namestnikov had five points in six playoff games last season.

Bruins first rounder Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist to earn first star honors as top-seeded Niagara took Game 2 vs. Oshawa, 6-1. They beat the Gens 8-2 on Thursday in Game 1 in St. Catherines.

Wilcox (pictured) and Tri-City got a must-needed win on Friday, topping the Force, 5-1. Wilcox was named first star for about the fifth time in the last month. Heâ€™s put the team on the back as they continue to make a push for the playoffs. With the win on Friday the Storm are tied with Des Moines for the last playoff spot in the West, but the Bucs have two games in hand. Tri-City has nine games left in the regular season.

Janosik was back from his native Slovakia, where he was taking some exams, but he didnâ€™t register a point in a loss to the Huskies. With one game to go in the regular season, Janosik is one point off his career high of 32 points, set last year in 10 more games. Gatineau can finish no lower than 14th among the 16 playoff teams. There are no conferences in the Q.

5â€™8â€ Yanni Gourde (undrafted) had a goal and four assists to increase his league-leading point total to 122. No one else is even close to him. With 11 points this season, Milan wonâ€™t come close to touching the 38 points he put up last year as a rookie with Moncton. He is already signed to an NHL contract with the Lightning. The Tigres are currently one point up on Quebec for the fourth seed in the league with one game remaining.

Twice London overcame one-goal deficits to tie and eventually beat Sarnia at home. With one game left, London and Plymouth are tied on top of the Western Conference with 97 points. London leads in wins by one. The Whalers have gone 10-0 in their last 10 games while the Knights have gone 5-5.

In a poll of OHL coaches, Namestnikov finished third in the Best Playmaker and Best Skater categories in the conference. Lightning camper Seth Griffith, who will re-enter the draft and could be a target of the Lightning with a second or third round pick, finished in the following categories: Most Improved (1), Most Dangerous in the Goal Area (2), Best Shootout Shooter (2).

Wilcox carried a shutout into the third period before conference-leading Omaha scored early in the final frame to take a 1-0 lead. They scored three more times, including an empty net goal, before the game ended. The Storm fell out of the last playoff spot and are now one point behind Sioux City, who beat Waterloo 7-2 and has a game in hand on Tri-City.

Twice Gauthier tied the game for Saint John, but at the end of the shootout with the game on the line Gauthier couldnâ€™t come through one final time. Kings second rounder Christopher Gibson stopped two of three shooters in the skills competition for the victory. With his two goals Friday, Gauthier moved into second place on his own in the Q goal scoring race. Heâ€™s still six behind Acadie-Bathurstâ€™s Zach Oâ€™Brien (undrafted).

Janosik was back in the lineup after missing last weekend with an illness and scored his sixth of the year for Gatineau to open the gameâ€™s scoring. He took a holding penalty in overtime, however, and the Foreurs capitalized on it with the game winning goal.

Namestnikov broke a three-game scoreless streak with a goal and an assist Friday as London completed a two-game home-and-home sweep of Guelph. With two points he reached 70 for the season, which establishes a new career high for the Lightning first round draft pick. He also set a career high for penalty minutes in a season with two more added to his totals.

Heâ€™s doing it again. After two bad losses to start the weekend, Wilcox was back in net for the third straight day and earned another first star in a Storm win. That gives him, unofficially, six in the last few weeks. With Sioux City idol on Sunday, Tri-City has taken over the final playoff spot in the USHLâ€™s Western Conference. USHL observers say they have Wilcox to thank for that.

Sorry folks, somehow I missed this late Saturday night, and itâ€™s a shame because new Lightning prospect Danick Gauthier was first star for the Sea Dogs in their 5-2 win over the Titan. In addition to scoring a couple of points, Gauthier was 8/13 on faceoffs. His 42 goals this year are tied for second, eight behind leader Zack Oâ€™Brien of the Titan. Oâ€™Brien (undrafted) did not score against the Sea Dogs on Saturday. Gauthier is tied for 10th in the league in total points and is sixth in plus/minus behind five teammates.

A day after putting up 10 goals on Moncton, Victoriaville only scored three in Gatineau on Sunday, but it was enough to win. Janosik continues to miss time with an illness. The Olympiques went 2-1 in his absence this weekend.

For the second night in a row London was stymied by a hot goaltender, this time it was Kevin Bailie (undrafted) of Oshawa. Saturday night it was Petr Mrazek of Ottawa. Lightning prospect Geoffrey Schemitsch outpointed fellow Bolt prospect Vladislav Namestnikov in the game, 2-0. Schemitschâ€™s two assists were a season high and the most points heâ€™s registered in a game since October 30, 2010, when he had three helpers. Namestnikov has fallen from among the league leaders in points to 22nd overall. Plymouth, who beat Sarnia on Sunday, closed to within two points of the Knights atop the Western Conference.

Wilcox and the Storm have spent the last two months crawling up the standings to make a run at the playoffs, but two bad losses this weekend could be a sign the surge could be ending. Wilcox had a pedestrian night in net after earning four or five first stars in the past few weeks. Fortunately for the Storm Sioux City continues to lose so Tri-City is still within a point of the final spot.

Victoriaville was not a kind host to Moncton on Saturday, beating them 10-0. Milan got into the action with an assist against his former team. Former Lightning camper Brandon Hynes was first star for Victoriaville with two goals and four points.

The Gens bounced back from a shellacking by London on Friday night to get a big road win against the high-powered Colts. Oshawa is three points up on Peterborough for the final playoff spot in the East with a game in hand on the Petes.

Wilcox couldnâ€™t make it three straight games with a first star award as the first place Lancers put five pucks by him on Friday on their way to a big win. Tri-City is still one point out of a playoff spot in the West.

Fresh off signing a 3-year free agent contract with the Lightning, forward Danick Gauthier had three assists to help the first place Sea Dogs to an 8-1 win over last place PEI. Gauthier is 10th in the league in total points now with 75. Florida Panthers first rounder Jonathan Huberdeau had four goals on the night for Saint John. The Rocket was outshot 41-15. To put things into perspective, Saint John leads the league with 94 points. PEI has 38.

Itâ€™s over! Schemitschâ€™s (pictured) streak of 86 regular season games without a goal came to an end when he scored an unassisted marker on Friday night in London. It was his first goal since the first game of the 2010-2011 season when he was with Owen Sound. On the other side of the ice, former Lightning prospect camper Seth Griffith had a hat trick for the Knights. He has 44 goals this season. His usual set-up man, Lightning prospect Vladislav Namestnikov, was moved off Griffithâ€™s line.

Wilcox does it again. The future Golden Gopher stopped 43 of 45 shots and earned the first star for the second night in a row. The Storm were outshot 45-24 in the game. Wilcox (pictured) finally evened his record with Tri-City and dropped his GAA under three. Tri-City has climbed within one point of Sioux City for the final playoff spot in the West.

A day after putting up 10 on Kingston, the Knights could only pocket two goals in a 3-2 loss to Belleville. The Bulls entered the game as the eighth seed in the East, 30 points behind London, the Westâ€™s top seed.

Welcome back, Vladdy! Namestnikov had a career-high five points, including his 19th and 20th goals of the season, as London destroyed the Fronts in Kingston, 10-3. He missed the last two games because of the flu. Kingston, who tried to get Lightning prospect Matt Peca in the offseason, is coached by former NHLer Todd Gill. Their general manager is Dougie Gilmour.

Schemitsch returned to the ice after missing a handful of games with an apparent concussion, his second of the season. He did not register a point in his return. Senators first rounder (2011) Stefan Noesen had a hat trick, including the overtime winner, for Plymouth.

Wilcox won his third straight game and had plenty of goal support to do so. The boys from Kearney beat their intra-state rivals from the east, 8-3. Las Vegas native and future Penn State Nittany Lion Kenny Brooks had a hat trick for Tri-City. (Kearney Hub photo)

Former Lightning forward and PEI coach Gordie Dwyer saw the visiting Tigres beat his Rocket 3-2 on the island. PEI is last in the QMJHL, four points out of a playoff spot. All but one team makes the postseason.

Schemitsch remains scratched for Oshawa because of a concussion. This is at least his third concussion. Late bloomer Tanner Pearson (undrafted) had a goal and an assist for the Colts. Pearson, who is second in the league with 79 points in 47 games (33 goals), is speculated to go in the second round of this summerâ€™s NHL draft. He played for Team Canada at the recent World Junior tournament.